I also went to college in the 50s and although some of the professors and students were liberal they were open to discussion on all sides of the issues.
I fear that is less so today and that is truly tragic for the students who don’t get an opening of their minds to other points of view.
I fear ...
You fear correctly. I retired after 33 years at a large northeastern university in 2003.
As a techie/geek I tended to get in early so I could get work done before mgt. showed up. Early mornings on more than one occasion I saw classic "dirty hippy" types pick up the entire stack of the Republican Club's newspaper and heave then in the recycling bin.
Talks hosted by the Republican Club were harassed (require police, etc.) and rioted at. The left did
not welcome anything but echoes of their own views.
I won't even get started on the indoctrination crap they tried to shove down our (staff's) throats.
Academentia sucks...
P.